Lay for looms



Nov., EQ, 135., w. F. BlRD ET AL LAY FOR LooMs Filed April 26, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Wl TNESSES Nov. 19, 1935. w. F. BID ET AL LAY FOR LOOMS Filed-April 26, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 WITNEssEs.-

Patented Nov. 19, l1935 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE" Hewton, & Aikman Philadelphia, Pa.,

Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa., a

assignors to Collins corporation of Delaware Application April 26, 1934, Serial No. 722,438

s claims. (ci.4 139-190) This invention' relates to lays useful in connection with plain looms as well as in connection with multi-shed looms such as are employed pile fabrics.

the shuttle in the production of double In conventional forms of looms, boxes are carried at the opposite ends of the lay so that the latter must, of necessity, be sturdily constructed of heavy and bulky parts. 'The 'means by which the llays are directly actuated are thus subjected to severe strains as reversals takeplace incident to oscillations of the lays; and the operation of the looms is attended lby incessant pounding and vibration. As is well known, these factors have a restricting orlimiting effect upon the speedof the looms, and in turn, upon the fabric yield from them.

In the main, our invention is directed toward overcoming the above recited drawbacks, that is to say: it has for its chief aim, the attainment of higher operating speed and consequently greater production of fabric than possible of attainment with the conventional forms of looms. This desiderata we secure as hereinafter fully disclosed, by elimination of the shuttle boxes asparts of the lay; byvotherwise lightening the construction of the lay; through providing for actuation of the lay by smooth operating rotary cam means; and by confining the lay to reciprocation in a straight plane the horizontal such that the reed is elevated during the beat stroke to determine impact of the reed wires with the fell of the fabric at .the region of maximum rigidity of said wires near the lower balk of the reed,. and lowered during the return stroke for passage of the warps in-l cident to change of the sheds at the centers of .the reed wires where the latter can yield laterally to facilitate passage'of knots or snarls in the yarns.

Other objects and advantages of this inventionwill be manifest from the detailed description following of the attached drawings, wherein Fig. I is a plan sectional view of a double pile fabric loom conveniently embodying our iin-- ings for a bottom shaft 8 (Fig. I) which receives will be noted from Figs.

at an lacute angle to motion froml a power shaft 9 atreduced speed, through a bevel gear couple I0, II, said power shaft being in turn driven, through speed reducing spur gears I2,v I3 by a prime mover It conventionally represented as an electric motor. 5 Also journalled in the'framework of the loom is l an upper shaft I5 which corresponds to the crank shaft'of .an ordinary loom and which is constantly rotated by means ofa pinion I6 thereon in mesh with a spur gear |1 aflixed to the b'ot- 10 V tom shaft 8.

` morepparticularly concerned, is comprehensively designated by the numeral I8. As shown, the lay I8 comprises laterally-spaced end frames IS, 15 which for the sake of lightness .are constructed, in` practice from aluminum or the like, said frames having horizontally recessed or yoked frontal portions 20 and rearwardly and downwardly sloping arms o r extremities 2|. Rigidly 20 connecting the end frames I9 with the reed 22 perpendicularly support-ed crosswise of the yoked frontal portions 28 of the said frames are transverse upper and lower angle bars 23 and 24.' The rearward extremities 2| of the end frames I9, it 25 II and DI, are longitudinally slotted 'as at 25 and engage guide blocks 26 free on the shaft I5; while rods 2,1 projecting forwardly from pendant lugs 28 at the frontal portions of said end frames in parallelism with the slotted extremities engage inxed slide bearing brackets29 reaching inward from the side frames 5 of the'loom. As a result of this construction, the lay I8 is conne'd to reciprocatory movement at an acute angle to the horizontal, which movement is imparted to it by rotary cam devices 380i the type featured in Figs. I-VII of United States Patent #1,980,527 of November 13, 1934 granted to William R. I-Iewton, one of the present applicants and led on August 18, 1933.

lAs in the above identified copending application,

each of the rotary cam devices 30 consists of a pair of counterpart disks 3| which are' securedy to the shaft I5 in spaced opposing relation with one of the rearward extremities 2| of the end 45` frames I9 of the lay I8 extending into the interval between them. The inner faces of the disks 3| of each cam' device B are formed with grooves or tracks having eccentric and-concentric portions 32 and 33 that dicated by the line shading at Stand 35 in Fig. III. The coincident cam grooves of the disks 3|- of each cam device 30 are engaged by the opposite ends of a follower roller 36 which is free toy rotate as well as to shift-axially in a boss 31 M merge through inclines inend frame I9 of the lay.

As usual, the warps W and W' (Figs. II and III) which respectively enter into the weaving of shuttle boxes 40 and 4I, it will be observed Fig. I areindependent of Athe lay 'I8 and stayist gthe top and bottom layers L and L' of the double fabric F, traverse the reed 22 of the lay; and said warps are controlled by suitable'harness (not illustrated) to form the necessary upper and lower reversing sheds S and S in a manner well understood in the art, through which sheds the shuttles indicated` at 38 and 39 ,are simultaneously thrown from shuttle boxes l and 4I at opposite sides of the loom, each having two vertically-aligned shuttle compartments.

from

tionarily supported by the side frames of the `loom. 'Ihe shuttle pickers 42 and 43" are slidable :in guide rods M and 45 at the backsof the shuttie boxes 40 and 4I, and have slotted engagement with the picker sticks Mi and 4'I (Fig. I)

which are also independent of the lay I 8 and. suitably fulcrumed on the framework of the loom.

The means for actuating the picker sticks may be of any'conventional form and for this reason has been omitted from the drawings.

'I'he operation of the loom is as follows:- The action of the cam devices 3ilis such that, during alternate revolutions of the shaft I5, the

lay I8 is caused to execute a beat stroke during which the weft threads served by the shuttles 38 and 39 are beaten up into the fell of the fabric F by the reed 22 as in Fig. III; while during the intervening rotations of said shaft, the lay is caused to dwell in its fully retracted position as in Fig. II, as a consequence, of which ample time is afforded for the passage of the shuttles crosswise of the loom between the shuttle boxes 40 and 4I. Due to definite guidance of the lay I8 to a straight path inclined to the horizontal, the reed 22 is always maintained in true vertical position with the determination that on the beat strokes of said lay, the reed wires engage the fabric at a point slightly above the lower balk (the region of maximum rigidity), whereby the wefts are Vbeaten frmly and uniformly into the fabric. On

the other hand, as the lay I8 is retracted toward its idle or rest position shown in Fig. II the reed 22 is lowered, so that upon reversals of the warps W, W incident to the formation of new sheds, said warps pass each other at or near the center of the reed wires where the latter are most flexible and therefore able to yield laterally some- .what to facilitate passage of snarls or knots in the yarns. By virtue of the lightness of the parts which enter into the construction of our improved lay and further in view of the fact that the shuttle boxes 40 and 4I are entirely separate therefrom, the inertia of the lay is relatively small. The lay can therefore be operated at much higherr speeds than possible Jwith the ordinary heavy forms of oscillating lays with attached shuttle boxes, without impartation of excessive pounding or vibraton to the framework of the loom. High speed operation of the loom is further favored by the particular actuating mechanism employed, since the grooves of the cam devices 30 are of easy curvature and therefore smooth in their operation. 'I'he same advantages as far as the 'last mentioned consideration isv concerned wouldfbe obtained by use of any of the other forms of rotary cam devices shown in the patent which has been referred to earlier herein.

These Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. In a loom, a lay supporting a reed in vertical position; means for actuating the lay; means for confining the lay to reciprocation in a straight plane inclined to the horizontal with the reed 5 maintained at all times in true vertical position, whereby, incident to the reversal of the sheds with the lay retracted, the warp yarns pass each other substantially centrally of the height of the reed wires, and that, at the termination of the 10 beat strokes of the lay, the fell of the fabric is' engaged by the reed wires at a level near the lower balk of the reed.

2. In a loom, a lay with a vertically-suppOIbed reed; rotary cam Vmeans for actuating the lay; and means for confining the lay to reciprocation in a straight plane at an acute angle to the horizontal with the reed maintained at all times in true vertical position, whereby, incident to the reversal of the sheds with the lay retracted, the 2o warp yarns pass each other substantially centrally .of the height of the reed wires, and whereby at the termination of the beat strokes of the lay, the fell of the fabric is engaged by the reed wires at a level near the lower balk of the reed.

3. In a loom, `a transverse lay-actuating shaft; a lay with a reed supported between end frames, said end frames respectively having longitudinally-slotted angularly-receding rearward extremities, swivel blocks free on the shaft and engaged by said extremities, and forwardly reaching rods in parallel relation to the slotted extremities engaging fixed brackets on the loom frame; and rotary cams on said shaft for reciprocating the lay.

4. In a loom, atransverse lay-actuating shaft; a lay with a reed vertically supported between end frames, said end frames respectively having longitudinally-slotted rearwardly-declining extremities, swivel blocks free on the shaft and lill,

slidingly engaged by said extremities, and forwardly reaching rods in parallelism with the slotted extremities engaging fixed guides on the loom framework; shuttle boxes at opposite sides ofthe loom independent of the lay; and rotary 45.

cams on the shaft aforesaid for imparting recipf4 rocatory movement to the lay. v l' 5. In a loom with positionally fixed shuttle boxes at opposite sides thereof, a lay comprising a reed; means for confining the lay to reciprocation in a straight plane inclined to the horizontal with the reed maintained at all times in true vertical position; and rotary cams on said shaft for reciprocating the lay with provisions of dwell periods in retracted position for passage of a 55,.

shuttle between the stationary shuttle boxes, said' rotary cams having grooves engaging a follower roller on the lay.

6. In a loom with positionally-fixed shuttle boxes at opposite sides thereof, a transverse lay 00'. actuating shaft; a lay with a reed supported between end frames respectively having longitudinally-slotted, singularly-receding rearward extremities, swivel blocks free on the shaft and engaged by said extremities, and forwardly reach- 35'- in retracted position for passage of a shuttle be- I tween the stationary shuttle boxes.

WHITWORTH BIRD. WILLIAM R. HEWTON'. 

